Stopper-confiner for flexible bottles, &amp;c.



No. 745,421. l PATENTE-BECA, 1903.

C. P. GUSHING. Y STOPPBR GONPINER FOR FLBXBLB BOTTLES, 5w.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. l, 1902.

WTNEESEE:

@ma 3) jam-fw# UNrTn STATES Patented December 1, 1903.

CYRUS F. CUSHING, OF R'AINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO FRANCIS E. LOVEJOY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STOPPER-CNFINER FOR FLEXBLE BOTTLES, &,O.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,421, dated December 11 1903 1 Application tiled April 1| 1902. Serial No. 100,914. (No model) To @ZZ whom, it' 17m/y concern:

Be it known that l, OYRUS F. CUSHING, of Braintree, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stopper-Coniiners for Flexible Bottles, dac., of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates chiefly to iiexible bottles or bags used to contain hot water, the body of the bag being composed of flexible material.

The invention" has for its object to provide an improved coniiner for the stopper of a liquid-receptacle of this or any other character, which conner shall be wholly inclosed within the receptacle when the stopper is in place and shall be adapted to limit the extent of removal of the stopper from its seat in the bottle-neck, thus preventing liability of the misplacement and loss'of the stopper without obstructing the outlet of the bottle.

The invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents a sectional view of a flexible bottle or bag provided with a stopper-confiner embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a section on 2 2 of Fig. l.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in both of the lgures.

In the drawings, a represents a iiexible bottle or bag, which may be of the usual or any suitable construction and is provided witha neck a', the interior of which isformed as a seat for the stopper b. To the inner end of the stopper is loosely hinged or jointed a coniner, which is adapted to extend from the stopper into the interior of the bottle when the stopper is in place and is composed of a slender elongated portion or stem c, adapted to move freely endwise in the neck a', and an enlargement or enlarged inner portion c', the width or lateral extension of which is greater than the internal diameter of the stopperseat, so that the enlargement will engage the lower end of the seat or the lower portion of the bottle-neck and resist outward movement after the stopper has been raised to a considerable ergtent from the seat, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l, the enlargement being located a suilicient dista-nce below the stopper to permit a considerable upward movement of the stopper and oi' the portion c of the coniiner before the upward movement is arrested by the engagement of the enlargement with the bottle-neck. The enlargement c is of resilient construction andv adapted to be compressed when forced under considerable pressure into the bottleneclnso that it may be forced downwardly through the neck into the interior of the bottle, the enlargement expanding by its own resilience after passing V4below the neck, so that considerable force will be required to withdraw it from the bottle. The enlargement c is a loop preferably of approximately triangular form, as shown in Fig. l, the upper side of the triangle being composed of the part 2, which is an extension of the portion c of the conner and of the part 3, which is the free end of the piece of wire of which the enlargement is made. The part 3 and the corresponding side of the enlargement are adapted to spring inwardly toward the part 2 and the opposite side of the enlargement to decrease the width of the enlargement as a whole. It will be observed that the arrangement of the triangular enlargement is such that its entrance into the bottle can be accomplished with less resistance than its withdrawal. I

The flattened-loop shape of the enlargement enables it to occupy the position shown in dotted lines in the lower portion of the bottle-neck without disturbing to any appreciable extent the :Elow of liquid through said neck. Said form and the lower connection between the stem and the stopper also enable the enlargement to lie between the sides of the bottle when the bottle is collapsed without causing said sides to protrude. Y

It will be observed that the coniner 4here shown is formed to permitthe stopper to hang over the edge of the usual mouth or funnel a2 of the bottle, the stopper being thus held out of the way when the bottle is being iilled. The funnel al at the same time inoloses the' outer portion of the coniner. It Will also be observed that the elongated or stem portion c of the retainer is substantially'rigid ICO and that the enlarged inner portion c of the retainer is a yielding or collapsing one and has tapering sides. Therefore the retainer, with the stopper connected to its upper end, may be readily and quickly applied to place by simply pushing it downward, using the rigid stem as a handle or pusher, 'the tapering sides of the enlargement enabling the said enlargement to be readily collapsed by contact with the inner sides of the neck a of the bottle or bag, and after the enlargement c has passed through the neck the parts 2 and 3 spring apart, so as to prevent the retainer from being removed.

I claim- A flexible liquid-receptacle having a neck and a stopper-seat therein, a mouth or funnel above said neck, a stopper formed to close the neck, and a stopper-conner projecting from the inner portion of the Stopper and formed to extend below the latter into the interior of the receptacle, said conner com- 

